Indian supreme court restrains local government from releasing Rajiv's assassins

India's Supreme Court Thursday stayed the order by the government of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu to release seven convicts in the 1991 assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The apex court asked the Tamil Nadu government to maintain status quo on three prisoners, Suthendraraja alias Santhan, V Sriharan alias Murugan and A G Perarivalan alias Arivu, whose death sentence was commuted to life term on Tuesday. In a dramatic move, the government of Tamil Nadu Wednesday said it would release seven convicts of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, including the three former death convicts, a move which triggered outrage of the ruling Congress party which immediately asked the Supreme Court to stop the order. The apex court has issued notice on central government's plea that Tamil Nadu government is not allowed to remit the sentences of Rajiv Gandhi's assassins. The court has asked Vellore prison authorities, located in the city of Vellore in the southern state, and the Tamil Nadu government not to release the convicts till March 6, when it will hear the central government's plea again. The central government told the court that Rajiv's killers were found guilty under Arms Act and Foreigners Act, under which only the central government had executive control. "The remission of life sentence which is awarded on commuting death penalty is not automatic," the Supreme Court said. "There is an elaborate procedure for remission of such life sentences, which TN government appears not to have followed, " it added.